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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. present — there
  3. hand — in cards
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. capital — a city
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cue — for pool
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rock — music
  11. cue — a signal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — money
  14. rock — a stone
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. scale — size or range
  18. saw — the tool
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. hand — help
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com